Son of a Greek immigrant met Stephen Schwarzman at Lehman Brothers; duo left to create private equity outfit Blackstone 1985. Total assets then: $400,000. Added real estate, hedge fund, financial advisory divisions. Firm now manages $92 billion, down 20% from a year ago. Received a $1.85 billion wire transfer when Blackstone went public 2 years ago; has committed most of his cash to his new foundation. Recently published his memoirs.